HUGE 70"+ 4K TV for under $800?? - what's out there?

[Dochartaigh]

My brother wants a HUGE 70-75", yet budget TV. $800 is a pretty hard limit - I've already painstakingly talked him up from $600, so nothing over $800 + tax. He's also ADAMANTLY set on 70-75" fyi.

He likes my 2018 TCL 6-Series (65") 65R617 (discontinued). Problem is I think my TCL is so nice still (for its price back then; and also even if slightly older now) because it has 120 individual backlit zones - please correct me if I'm wrong here in this being part of its technology that makes it still nice to my eyes in 2022 (for a non-OLED screen of course

Seems like everything I'm seeing, common models the review sites mention as 'budget' ones are models like the TCL 5-Series 75" (on sale, otherwise 4-Series), Hisense 75U6G (or H/J similar models), and a couple Samsungs (kinda... couple reviews mention $700... but not seeing those exact ones near that price so who knows).

And NONE of those ^ ^ ^ seem to have near as many backlit zones as my 4-year old 6-Series. TCL 5-Series in larger 75" still only has 60 zones - HALF of my older 6-Series 65" model. SO, if I'm correct in my assumption, none of these under $800 will compare to my ~4-year old TCL 6-Series??? (which would seem weird to me since mine was $1000 for a 4-years old 65" - and I thought 4 years later they would be better and cheaper for a comparable 75" version now).

How about the rare under-$800 (on sale probably) QLED or NanoCell (or whatever) technology? Would that outperform my 6-Series non-QLED model, even if the QLED has half of the backlit zones? So should we focus on models with this technology (if available for under $800)? He's buying something soon regardless, so even if nothing compares to my 6-Series TCL, just recommendations for whatever is that best for that budget would be great.

Last, he also wants to mirror his iPhone 12 Pro to the TV so I believe that means Airplay2 compatibility is a must. Seems like Roku still plays nicer with Apple devices than Google TV does? He might also occasionally do the same with his Windows Laptop - so that would be Chromecast compatibility I think? (which does the ENTIRE desktop, not just a tab from a single Google Chrome browser tab, right)?

Thank you for all suggestions.

[Ed Oscuro]

A very relevant question! That's just about the basement for 75" pricing. There's the TCL 75" 75S546 and the Hisense 75" 75U6H (48 dimming zones), and maybe a few other options including recently discontinued models.
https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/best/ ... 75-77-inch

The difference between the 65" and 75" Hisense U6H models is $200. That's a 36% price premium for an area increase of about 33%. The pricing premium isn't too bad.

The 65" and 75" segments are growing. I'd personally hold out for a while longer to see if competition drives price further down and features start filtering downward as these become more common models.

However, the bad notes: The 2021 TCL 5 Series / s546 looks good on paper, but read the review. Rtings' sample had terrifically bad color accracy, dirty screen effect due to poor gray uniformity, and couldn't even scale 480p properly. Check out the Hisense review and the "Notable Mentions" for some alternatives, which also have some downsides.

[Konsolkongen]

I would advice against buying an LG LCD TV. They are mostly (if not all of them) IPS panels which have terrible black levels, and local dimming won't help much here. Every non OLED LG TV I've ever seen have looked really bad.

[orange808]

With such a small budget, maybe look into a beamer and a dongle.

Although, a smaller and more expensive LG OLED is a better buy.

[Dochartaigh]

A very relevant question! That's just about the basement for 75" pricing. There's the TCL 75" 75S546 and the Hisense 75" 75U6H (48 dimming zones), and maybe a few other options including recently discontinued models.
https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/best/ ... 75-77-inch

Thank you for the advice!

If he dropped down to 65" is there any models which have better picture quality for his $800 budget? Looking at Rtings again (and others), on their 'best 65-inch' article they list the same HiSense U6H as their budget choice (which he can get the 75" under his budget...), and the next level up HiSense (their mid-range pic) in 65" is $150 ($950) over his budget so that's out too...



Also saw the HiSense U7G (75", $909), which didn't come up in any 'best of' articles I read, but seems to be rated on Rtings higher than the other U6G and the TCL 5-Series too. Believe it's 120Hz too (which he wanted, but didn't think he could get at this price point), but does NOT accept Airplay.

Speaking of AirPlay and Chromecast – is Roku or Google TV generally better than the other in this regard? Seems like manufacturers like to hide this information for some reason. My own TCL 6-Series 65R617 for example has NOTHING about Airplay in the manual or the tech spec sheet... yet it 1000% has it (just connected to it on my iPhone). Then for Chromecast a TCL rep on BestBuy's page said "no", then another TCL rep on the Amazon page for my TV says "yes"... (again, super confusing).



He might just wait until Black Friday sales and see what's available at that point if there truly is nothing half-way decent out now for his budget... Doesn't want to wait really though (has a 3yo kid who enjoys TV time before bed.... and the 49" he's using now is glitching the audio all the time...).

[Ed Oscuro]

I would advice against buying an LG LCD TV. They are mostly (if not all of them) IPS panels which have terrible black levels

This advice is really dependent on the content. For content creation in a reasonably bright office, and high FPS gaming, IPS is a great choice.

VA also has worse viewing angles than IPS and that might be an issue with screens this large. I'd check it out in person before dropping the cash.

With such a small budget, maybe look into a beamer and a dongle.

Although, a smaller and more expensive LG OLED is a better buy.

I thought about mentioning a projector. It's worth mentioning. OLED is going to be too far out of the stated budget range even at 55" unfortunately, unless you step down to something like the 2021 48" LG A1 series which is currently on sale at Amazon for $676.99. In my opinion that's actually still a pretty big screen, but OP's bro was definite about this.
https://www.amazon.com/LG-Built-Refresh ... 092LZNZB7/ and
https://www.tomsguide.com/news/best-oled-tv-deals

[Lord of Pirates]

A projector doesn't seem like a practical choice unless there's no concern for quality.

[orange808]

A projector doesn't seem like a practical choice unless there's no concern for quality.

True. In this case, the image quality of an LCD panel should be better.

At 75", with no money to spend, and zero planning, a panel is better. OP would have to accept some trade-offs with a beamer.

That isn't true when we look at larger screens at higher prices, though. The projectors aren't dead yet.

While off topic, people with a real budget shouldn't dismiss beamers for a big screen home theatre and gaming setup. For instance, if you wanted a 200" screen, the newest Sony XW5000ES in a planned installation with a high quality motorized screen and a high quality audio system will outperform almost any panel (when we demand and require a huge screen) and it will (also) hide the huge display away with no ugly colossal cabinet. Not an option for OP, of course. 19.5ms of lag is plenty powerful for gaming, even if you give up VRR for the big screen. Then again, we're talking well over $15000 (to start from scratch) and that's for people that can install and configure it themselves (most people should hire an installer). In a suitable room, it will look stunning at 200" and you won't sit there wishing it was a smaller OLED, either. By comparison, it makes a standard video wall look like a cruel joke. As usual, we get what we pay for.

[Konsolkongen]

I would advice against buying an LG LCD TV. They are mostly (if not all of them) IPS panels which have terrible black levels

This advice is really dependent on the content. For content creation in a reasonably bright office, and high FPS gaming, IPS is a great choice.

VA also has worse viewing angles than IPS and that might be an issue with screens this large. I'd check it out in person before dropping the cash.

You're right, but OP emphasises local dimming zones so it seems like black level is an important factor

[Ed Oscuro]

That's been true so panels so far, but I noticed that Rtings claims the Hisense 75U9DG, which has a stacked LCD panel, rivals OLED for contrast ratio and deep blacks, despite the panels being based on LCD technology. So the days of "IPS is bad for contrast" may be numbered!

[Lord of Pirates]

A projector doesn't seem like a practical choice unless there's no concern for quality.

True. In this case, the image quality of an LCD panel should be better.

At 75", with no money to spend, and zero planning, a panel is better. OP would have to accept some trade-offs with a beamer.

That isn't true when we look at larger screens at higher prices, though. The projectors aren't dead yet.

While off topic, people with a real budget shouldn't dismiss beamers for a big screen home theatre and gaming setup. For instance, if you wanted a 200" screen, the newest Sony XW5000ES in a planned installation with a high quality motorized screen and a high quality audio system will outperform almost any panel (when we demand and require a huge screen) and it will (also) hide the huge display away with no ugly colossal cabinet. Not an option for OP, of course. 19.5ms of lag is plenty powerful for gaming, even if you give up VRR for the big screen. Then again, we're talking well over $15000 (to start from scratch) and that's for people that can install and configure it themselves (most people should hire an installer). In a suitable room, it will look stunning at 200" and you won't sit there wishing it was a smaller OLED, either. By comparison, it makes a standard video wall look like a cruel joke. As usual, we get what we pay for.

Something reasonable could be had if used was acceptable and it was the budget for just a projector. It wouldn't be a 4K proj. with a 200" colossus though . I'm content with a smaller screen but, around 130" (16:9) is the largest I could reasonably accommodate without major adjustments or renovation.

More on topic: I think either size needs to drop or the budget needs to increase.

That's been true so panels so far, but I noticed that Rtings claims the Hisense 75U9DG, which has a stacked LCD panel, rivals OLED for contrast ratio and deep blacks, despite the panels being based on LCD technology. So the days of "IPS is bad for contrast" may be numbered!

Seems nice enough for most people as long as glow isn't too bad on dark content.

[Ed Oscuro]

Rtings are emphatic:

This technology helps provide the TV with the best contrast ratio we've tested on any LED TV. The black level is nearly perfect, even in bright scenes, and there's almost no blooming around bright objects.

I'd almost bet money the 1080p backlight resolution array already beats any CRT for blooming control. Reading the full review, it sounds like there are some teething problems (alignment or internal reflections may be a problem, and running light through two layers rather than one may hurt ghosting performance), but this may be a cost-effective replacement for some other panel types all the same. Definitely watch this space.
https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/hisense/u9dg